Mission Impossible theme composer Lalo Schifrin dies aged 93

Powys County Times

27-06-2025

Lalo Schifrin, the composer who wrote the theme for Mission: Impossible and more than 100 other arrangements for film and television, has died at 93.
Schifrin's sons, William and Ryan, confirmed his death.
The Argentine won four Grammys and was nominated for six Oscars, including five for original score for the movies: Cool Hand Luke; The Fox; Voyage of the Damned; The Amityville Horror; and The Sting II.
'Every movie has its own personality. There are no rules to write music for movies,' Schifrin told the Associated Press in 2018.
'The movie dictates what the music will be.'
Schifrin also wrote the grand finale musical performance for the World Cup in Italy in 1990, in which the Three Tenors: Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras; sang together for the first time.
The work became one of the biggest sellers in the history of classical music.
Born Boris Claudio Schifrin to a Jewish family in Buenos Aires, where his father was the concertmaster of the philharmonic orchestra, Schifrin was classically trained in music, in addition to studying law.
After studying at the Paris Conservatory, where he learned about harmony and composition from composer Olivier Messiaen, Schifrin returned to Argentina and formed a concert band.
Jazz great Dizzy Gillespie heard Schifrin perform and asked him to become his pianist, arranger and composer.
In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States where he performed and recorded with famous names including Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and George Benson.
He also moved into writing music for television and Hollywood movies.
In 2018, he was given an honorary Oscar statuette, which was presented to him by Clint Eastwood.
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his daughter, Frances, and wife, Donna.